WMC welcomes Murmu, advises Kuki-Zos to review UT demand
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IMPHAL, Dec 11 : Welcoming President Droupadi Murmu on her visit to Manipur, the World Meetei Council has urged the Kuki-Zo leadership to re-examine their current approach to the ongoing conflict, vis a vis the demand for a separate Union Territory.
It has called upon the Kuki-Zo leaders to come forward with clarity and sincerity for a constructive dialogue.
In a press release, WMC acknowledged the suffering and hardships of displaced Meetei and Kuki-Zo people.
Due to the prolonged displacement, public leaders - MPs, MLAs, CSOs, and WMC - have repeatedly urged the Government of India to take decisive steps to control "armed Kuki-Zo elements operating openly in the region under the nose of the Army". Only then can all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) return to their homes safely, and highways be accessible to all communities without fear, it added.
WMC alleged that evidence on the ground points to armed Kuki-Zo groups being responsible for preventing IDPs from returning home and also threatening travellers on the highways.
WMC advised Kuki-Zo leadership to examine why displaced Kuki-Zo families are not being allowed to return home instead of questioning others.
It asserted that "holding their own people in prolonged uncertainty for political objectives - such as the pursuit of a so-called 'Kukiland'- is a dangerous and self-defeating strategy".
Reiterating that any attempt to break Manipur or create a new political entity will never be accepted by the indigenous people of the State, WMC also reminded the Kuki-Zo leadership of "past provocations", such as the vandalization of Meetei homes worth crores in Moreh (2015) and the "burning of Meetei residences in Churachandpur at the start of the present crisis". While the Meetei community responded to these grave incidents with restraint, yet a continued victimhood narrative has widened mistrust and delayed peace, said WMC.
Therefore, in the larger interest of Manipur and the region, WMC has urged the Kuki-Zo leadership to rethink their current approach.
The demand for a separate Union Territory carved out of Manipur is unacceptable to all indigenous communities, and pursuing it through violence or misinformation will not succeed, it maintained.
It has called upon the Kuki-Zo leaders to come forward with clarity and sincerity for a constructive dialogue.
In a press release, WMC acknowledged the suffering and hardships of displaced Meetei and Kuki-Zo people.
Due to the prolonged displacement, public leaders - MPs, MLAs, CSOs, and WMC - have repeatedly urged the Government of India to take decisive steps to control "armed Kuki-Zo elements operating openly in the region under the nose of the Army". Only then can all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) return to their homes safely, and highways be accessible to all communities without fear, it added.
WMC alleged that evidence on the ground points to armed Kuki-Zo groups being responsible for preventing IDPs from returning home and also threatening travellers on the highways.
WMC advised Kuki-Zo leadership to examine why displaced Kuki-Zo families are not being allowed to return home instead of questioning others.
It asserted that "holding their own people in prolonged uncertainty for political objectives - such as the pursuit of a so-called 'Kukiland'- is a dangerous and self-defeating strategy".
Reiterating that any attempt to break Manipur or create a new political entity will never be accepted by the indigenous people of the State, WMC also reminded the Kuki-Zo leadership of "past provocations", such as the vandalization of Meetei homes worth crores in Moreh (2015) and the "burning of Meetei residences in Churachandpur at the start of the present crisis". While the Meetei community responded to these grave incidents with restraint, yet a continued victimhood narrative has widened mistrust and delayed peace, said WMC.
Therefore, in the larger interest of Manipur and the region, WMC has urged the Kuki-Zo leadership to rethink their current approach.
The demand for a separate Union Territory carved out of Manipur is unacceptable to all indigenous communities, and pursuing it through violence or misinformation will not succeed, it maintained.